Yellowknife (Sep 22/06) - People in Inuvik will not be voting for the District Education Authority when elections happen October 16.

Judy Harder: said it's too bad Inuvik won't get to elect a district education authority. Terry Halifax: said people seem apathetic about the district education authority.

Since candidate Tom Charbonneau dropped out of the race, there are now seven candidates for seven posts.

Therefore, all posts will be acclaimed.

Judy Harder, current chair of the DEA, said it's too bad residents of Inuvik won't get to choose their representatives.

This is despite the fact she was seeking re-election and the change guaranteed her return.

"I am excited about the candidates who've come forward, and I look forward to working with them," she said.

"But I think it's good when the community gets a chance to elect representatives.

"There is a sense of greater responsibility, and of knowing they were chosen to do this job."

Ken Crocker, who himself has been acclaimed as a DEA member, is also the town's deputy returning officer.

He said he called education authorities in Yellowknife, but was told that extra time could not be added, to see if anyone else wanted to run.

"The rules don't allow us to re-open the nominations," he said.

Another candidate, Terry Halifax, said it was too bad that Inuvik's DEA will be, essentially, a group of people who simply wanted the job.

"I think it speaks volumes that anyone can sit on a DEA board without being elected," he said.

"It seems there's an apathy. People don't think the board is important," he said.

Tom Charbonneau could not be reached as of press time, to ask why he dropped out of the race.